FLauthor
Hero Member
- Aug 22, 2004
- 770
- 203
- Detector(s) used
- Excalibur 800; Fisher F5; White Beachmaster VLF
- Primary Interest:
- Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Why are you hunting public parks when there are virgin sites out there that have never had a metal detector waved over it. Here are some tips to get started. Become a member of the local historical society and tell them you want to be their field operator for old home sites, old bottle dumps, ect. You'll probably have more sites then you can possibly hunt, get your hunting buddies involved. Give a percentage of your finds to the historical society museum with your name as the finder. Something you can point out to your kids or grandkids. These are some of the things you can be doing when it's too dang cold to be metal detecting.
Ask the historical society who the oldest residents are still living who were born there. Should be a few of them. Go interview them and ask such things as where did teens go for picnics, lovers lane, swimming holes, dances and such. Many people didn't trust banks after the Depression and may have buried their money and died before it was recovered. Maybe Gangsters robbed the bank and the money was hidden and never recovered. Let them talk about the good old days. Either take notes or record it then write it down later. I interviewed an old timer that told me about a lot of treasure sites in Florida. I read every library book that had to do with Central Florida and if it smelled like treasure, I wrote it down. When I had about 300 sites, I wrote my first book "Where to Metal Detect in Central Florida". It was first published in 1991 and its still being sold today and probably will be long after I'm gone too.
Go to the County Seat Tax office and ask for the old Government Survey Maps to find pioneer cabins, crossroads, stage stations, ferry crossings, villages that are today extinct. Find something interesting then the tax office can pinpoint on modern map and tell you who owns it so permission can be sought. I found a bottle dump in an old city lot that once belonged to a Lumber Baron in the 1880. That was a lot of fun digging up history and many of the bottles are in 3 museums.
Use the Internet Search engine. Use a title like History of ?? town. Try surrounding towns, use your imagination. How do you think these TH'ers find a George Washington Inaugural Button or a $20 gold piece hidden in a old tobacco can hidden in a stone wall. Or a Morgan Silver dollar placed under the hearth of a old chimney for good luck. You will dig a ton of junk but that one diamond in the rough will be found and your heart will be singing.
When you make that great find, write about it and send in a photo. I've been hunting since 1972, 40 years and I don't have any kids to pass on this information so I pass it to you.
I hope you find a Mother Lode.
Ask the historical society who the oldest residents are still living who were born there. Should be a few of them. Go interview them and ask such things as where did teens go for picnics, lovers lane, swimming holes, dances and such. Many people didn't trust banks after the Depression and may have buried their money and died before it was recovered. Maybe Gangsters robbed the bank and the money was hidden and never recovered. Let them talk about the good old days. Either take notes or record it then write it down later. I interviewed an old timer that told me about a lot of treasure sites in Florida. I read every library book that had to do with Central Florida and if it smelled like treasure, I wrote it down. When I had about 300 sites, I wrote my first book "Where to Metal Detect in Central Florida". It was first published in 1991 and its still being sold today and probably will be long after I'm gone too.
Go to the County Seat Tax office and ask for the old Government Survey Maps to find pioneer cabins, crossroads, stage stations, ferry crossings, villages that are today extinct. Find something interesting then the tax office can pinpoint on modern map and tell you who owns it so permission can be sought. I found a bottle dump in an old city lot that once belonged to a Lumber Baron in the 1880. That was a lot of fun digging up history and many of the bottles are in 3 museums.
Use the Internet Search engine. Use a title like History of ?? town. Try surrounding towns, use your imagination. How do you think these TH'ers find a George Washington Inaugural Button or a $20 gold piece hidden in a old tobacco can hidden in a stone wall. Or a Morgan Silver dollar placed under the hearth of a old chimney for good luck. You will dig a ton of junk but that one diamond in the rough will be found and your heart will be singing.
When you make that great find, write about it and send in a photo. I've been hunting since 1972, 40 years and I don't have any kids to pass on this information so I pass it to you.
I hope you find a Mother Lode.
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I docent at two different museums (requires just a 6 hr. committment per month), and as such ..... have my greedy little fingers "carte blanche" to their resources 
